


Holo Reality

by Kiiyah



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: Angst, Doppelganger, Eventual Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Holography, M/M, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Weird Plot Shit, holograms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:07:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23209012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiiyah/pseuds/Kiiyah
Summary: Yunho becomes a beta tester for a pair of virtual reality glasses, and accidentally falls in love with a hologram, one that looks almost exactly like Changmin.Also that fic where things get real angsty and something breaks. Sorry not sorry.Based off of the K-Drama's "My Holo Love" and "Memories of Alhambra". Just a tiny bit of this is also based off of the manga, Megane Kichiku, in that the developers and salesman of the glasses are shady as f*ck. That no one has a clue of where they came from, or how the glasses were made. At least not yet.
Relationships: Jung Yuho/Shim Changmin Doppelganger, Jung Yunho/Shim Changmin
Comments: 7
Kudos: 22





	1. Tired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yunho finds out about the glasses, and has a midlife crisis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of short, but that'll change once I delve into the juicy bits of the story. Plus with all the free time I now have, I'll probably have more time to hash out plots and devise evil plans. JK, or am I?

By now, the news had spread in the farthest reaches of South Korea. Shin Changmin had a girlfriend, and they were very much in love.

Of course, Yunho had already known this for quite a while, as Changmin had introduced them to each other earlier in the week, hoping that they would get acquainted around each other, being that Yunho was one of Changmin’s closest friends; they were bound to be around each other pretty frequently if not at all.

Yes, he was happy for his friend. After all these years Changmin wasn’t alone anymore, and this honestly thrilled him, because Changmin was honestly a bit of a loner in the sense that off stage, he was rarely seen and often found at his home, or at least halfway to it.

Truly, he was happy in that sense. Changmin had really found someone to love and hold him, and just be there for him, kinda like Yunho had been. He remembered Changmin saying all too clearly

that having a girl friend didn’t mean that Yunho was any less important to him, only that he now occupied another place in his heart, and that wasn’t the same place as his girlfriend.

Years of being together couldn’t make up for this kind of romance that Changmin had with her. It simply couldn’t. It still meant something though, right?

Yet he couldn’t tell if that heavy, crushing sort of feeling in his chest was jealousy, or that perpetual ache of loneliness that seemed to follow him wherever he went. He also didn’t know if it was due to Changmin being with someone, or the fact that Changmin would no longer be around him as frequently during their free time, at least not as much as before.

Yunho, sitting on the love seat in his living room, sighed at this. Has it really been that long? Sixteen long years, and yet he never said a thing. Never told Changmin how he felt. It was overly foolish of him to assume that Changmin would notice, or somehow initiate the conversation pertaining to such feelings, as Changmin was just phenomenally quiet outside of work.

The silence that was drifting through his apartment was starting to make him antsy, not to mention his current line of thought was simply **not** helping.

That must be why when his phone rang, he practically jumped ten feet into the air. If it wasn’t for gravity, he’d be six feet into the roof by now. Which would probably freak out his neighbors if something like that happened. He’d also be very, very dead.

With slightly trembling fingers, he pick up his phone and answered, upon seeing the caller ID. It was their manager, which was odd, because he usually didn’t call around this time. Well, it’s not like the words “It’s my day off” would stop him anyway.

“Yes, hello? Let me guess, there’s another show that wants me to be a guest on their panel?” He already has like seven scheduled for next week. God forbid he get any sleep, with the various endorsements and CF’s sprinkled throughout the months. No wonder he was feeling out of sorts. His schedule was getting more and more out of control by the minute. Honestly, sometimes wished he was back in the military with the amount of work he’s getting at the moment. At least there they gave him breaks.

“Well, sort of. It’s another endorsement. There’s this tech company that wants you to be their beta tester, and maybe even spokesperson if you’d like.”

Oh, that was new. Usually it was an athletic wear, health and beauty products that he was sponsoring. Beta testing was new to him, at least in the sense that he’s never done it before. The most time he’s ever spent with a product is the day before the actual shoot, and that was if he was lucky enough to have some time that day too.

“Okay, you’ve got my attention now. What’s the product, assuming that I agree to this beta testing?” He rolled around on his couch before finally sitting up. “It’s a pair of glasses, with a virtual reality assistant. Sorta like Siri or Bixby, but as a person instead of a disembodied voice. The assistant is a hologram that you can interact with, and even customize to your liking. I’m not sure of all the details, but I figured you’d be interested enough to take a look? They sent me some documents for you to read as well.”

“Hmm, did they come directly to the company?” Wow, that’s really ambitious of them. It kinda sounded suspicious, as his manager recounted all of the details, of how they’d even spoken with the CEO before then notifying his manager, all the way up to now. It was like those shows were some shady businessman tries to sell you his wares on the street, trying to make it sound all enigmatic and fantastical, but then you come to find out it’s just some herbal foot cream or some crap like that. Or magical past that some cures every disease known to man.

“Fine. I’ll do it.” The premise was interesting enough, and given that they were even able to speak to the CEO about this, why the hell not? What more could he hope to lose by trying it out? It’s not like he’d cause some scandal by dating his glasses, right? What kind of ridiculous story would that be?

His manager chuckled softly through the speaker at his response, “You make it sound like I coerced you into to doing something illegal. Anyway, I’ll send the paperwork to you, so you can look it over and sign it. Also remember that you have to wake up-”

“I know, I didn’t forget. I have to wake up early for that show I promised appear on.”

After that, they chat for a little while longer, than hang up.

He would be receiving the prototype tomorrow after he finishes with the variety show he’s to guest on, and a number of other activities before he heads home, once again. That was a grossly, oversimplified view of his schedule; he honestly tried not to think about his schedule too much, because he knew that if he did, the likely chance that he’d have some sort of panic attack would be high.

Changmin didn’t know about them, but then again it wasn’t like he needed to know. They had a pretty close relationship, having been together most of their adolescent life, as well as adult life—but they’d been drifting apart in recent years. As the demand for Changmin grew, people became less and less interested in the him, which wasn’t surprising. Changmin was a wonderful singer, with even softer, boyish looks, even though he was still in his early 30’s.

He didn’t want to admit it, but it felt like he was running out of time, in the way that his younger years seemed to stretching farther and farther away, while death was running up to him and shaking his hand like old friends. Yunho knew that he was probably having a midlife crisis right about now. People use to say that getting older makes you wiser, but all it was doing for Yunho right now was making him want to curl under the covers and hope that people forget him completely.

That exhaustion that he was use to feeling suddenly felt a lot heavier that it used too. It was like his bones were made out of all that times he missed sleeping and worked overtime.

It suddenly occurred to him that he should sleep like now, considering it was 9pm and he had to get up early the next day.

* * *

It was 2:00pm and Yunho had just woken from a dream. Now the dream itself wasn’t terrifying or even remotely sexual, it was just, it was so _real._ So fucking real. Every sensation, every touch, every sensation that sprung through his body was so intensely real. The clothes on his body were damp amidst the somewhat lucid state he was in. Yet none of that mattered one bit.

He clearly remembers the shock of Changmin kissing him. Every single thing.

It wasn’t something that could ever happen; he couldn’t let something like this happen. Ever.

He could feel the shame bubbling up in his throat, even as he remembers how enjoyable it was. How soft the lips felt against his own, and his own desire for that something lay just beyond reach.

It was torture. He knew that he would never tell Changmin how he felt. That wasn’t even the point. He couldn’t tell him. It wasn’t possible at this point, and probably never would become reality. It wouldn’t make a difference anyway. After all, what could Changmin do after he told him? Break up with his girlfriend? No. Even he knew that was absolutely preposterous. It would do his girlfriend a great disservice; she was a really sweet woman, no one deserved that, well at least no one like her.

It would make Yunho’s relationship with Changmin even more distant that it already was, and he wasn’t about to ruin that sixteen or so years of bonding that they had done.

He kicked off the sheets in depressive frustration, and turn to face the wall.

All he could hope was that the feelings some how wore off over the next few years. If he was lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually pretty pumped for this story. I'm thinking around 20 chapters, but I'm not sure.
> 
> Enjoy! Yunho's passion is about to get a major makeover.
> 
> Also I really need a beta reader ya'll. Tell me if your interested(please?)
> 
> Comment if you enjoyed this chapter! I don't mind constructive feedback.


	2. Yet Not Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yunho finally uses the glasses, and is utterly surprised at what he sees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! I didn't get to post a chapter last week, or the week before, so here it is!

Needless to say, he woke up exhausted that morning, having only gotten at most a few hours of sleep under his belt. Things were already not going well for him, and he was barely a few inches out of bed when he heard his alarm go off under his pillow, which only soured his mood more as it meant that he’d woken up before his alarm. All that extra sleep he could have gotten, sadly had gone down the drain. Though at this point it wouldn’t have mattered much, since it wasn’t like he’d gotten up two hours before his alarm. He actually did that one time and was so pissed for most of the day. It wasn’t like Changmin was around to temper his mood either, since he was promoting some CF at the time.

The only thing that he could do now was throw off the covers(and his phone, which accidentally fell under the bed, all because he forgot he laid it on top the covers) and at least take a shower; the eye bags lining his eyes looked like someone attached sandbags to them, as they seemed to get droopier each night. Yunho valued his appearance, as did every artist younger and older than him, but he really wish he didn’t give two fucks about it. It was so hard to manage every single morning; he sometimes wished that people didn’t have such high expectations of him when it came down to it.

Oh there it was. His crankiness was showing; that wasn’t very ideal. Why did he sleep late if he knew he had to wake early the next morning? It’s not like there was much time to muse over such mistakes, since he only had about an hour to get ready. Within that tine frame, exercising was definitely off the table.

He had been making a habit of exercising at least three to four times a week. It was supposed to make him feel better and not only help boost his mood but also the physical stature of his body. Yes, he was sore most days, but the more he did it, the less the apparent the soreness was. The thing was, soreness aside, was that it wasn’t really helping with his mood, like it was supposed to. If anything, was becoming more pessimistic by the day.

Yunho knew that time that he did have was running thin. He was barely slipping on his shoes when his manager called to let him know that he was outside with the car. This kind of rush hour feeling was streaming through his body like some kind of artificial high; as a result he stood there looking for his keys when in reality it was on the table right in front. _Jesus man, get it together,_ he thought as he finally got the key in the hole. It was like he was drunk on exhaustion, though the similarity of an alcoholic drunkenness and a sleepy one were not lost on him. In fact, they were practically the same in terms of side effects. Maybe he should have just drunk himself to sleep instead. Perhaps that would have been the least responsible, yet easiest method in that regard.

His manger was less than stellar when he finally did show up at the van, but nonetheless ushered him into the car. Yunho wasn’t in the habit of being late to every meeting/gathering/variety show he was invited too, but he had his bad days. It was almost periodical, these mood swings of his. Sometimes Changmin would joke that he was on his “period” and Yunho would just chuckle in response. It certainly felt like that at times.

What was Changmin doing right now anyway? Was he with his girlfriend? Was he even off today? These thoughts bounced around his head like marbles in a can, and suddenly he felt a slight headache come on. Now, he knew, wasn’t the time to be confronting such thoughts.

The car ride was only about 20 minutes long, yet it felt like forever had passed since they actually left his apartment.

The window ladden sky rise they eventually pulled up to looked ever so imposing, the sunlight streaming into the car dimming, and eventually disappearing as they pulled into the car garage and parked the car. They weren’t late per say, but Yunho knew that the stylists assigned to him would have to work quickly in order to properly ready him for the live shoot.

His manger ushered out of the car and into the elevator, all with this slightly pinched look on his face, as if he’d just eaten something sour. Yunho wanted to ask what was wrong, but he figured that it had something to do with how close they were skimming to the eventual shoot time with Yunho’s late arrival. It wasn’t the first time, but it’d probably be the last time; he wouldn’t make a habit out of this.

Or at least he’d try.

* * *

In the end, the shoot went fairly well, despite Yunho’s screwed up morning. The makeup artists had somehow managed to cover up his Godzilla-sized eye bags, something that he found surprising considering that they went from being giant ink splotches to barely noticeable dents under his eyes.

Maybe they weren’t nearly as big as Yunho had thought, considering that his face was quite swollen this morning(purely from sleep) and that it’d probably gone down a bit during the car ride to the studio.

He remembered when he’d waken this morning and taken a look in the mirror, flashbacks back to his time in the army came to mind. He’d gorge himself on all his favorite food, because he was finally, finally allowed to eat, and man was he going to take this opportunity while it lasted. Needless to say it wasn’t a very good idea, even though at the time it certainly felt like a good one. Gorging on food was one of those things that always felt good to do, but you pretty much always felt guilty for afterwards.

His manger came up to him while he was in his changing room, removing the makeup from his face, carrying a white box and a manila envelope in hand. For a moment, Yunho had forgotten what this was all about, until his manager handed him the package and envelope, telling him not to open it until he arrived back at his apartment. It was then he realized what this was about, and nodded though his manager was already gone.

Yunho could see the edges of the package teasing him in the mirror as he removed his makeup. The thing is was that he kind of enjoyed opening packages; it was like his birthday all over again; a child’s impatient excitement to see what it was they’d gotten. He held back though, knowing that delicate and secretive one had to be about the prototypes and test samples; if any of this got out too early, well lets just say that he’d be in quite a bit of trouble.

It wasn’t long before he was done with everything and slipped all the items in his bag, before heading out into the waiting van. The drive was fairly uneventful, save for the fact that his manager kept glancing into the backseat every now and then, though that was fairly normal as well.

Ten or so minutes passed before they actually got his place of residence. It was located in a fairly sparsely populated area, even with all of the sky rises and such; it was a bit expensive for an person anyway, so neighbors were not much of a worry. Once he got into his apartment, a shiver momentarily rushed through him. It was so damn cold, maybe it was a better idea for him to turn on the thermostat first before doing anything. He must’ve forgotten to turn on before he left; in not doing so his residence basically turned into a giant refrigerator.

Then again, he remembered his state this morning, and decided to cut himself some slack. Today wasn’t exactly one of his best days.

He set his bag down on the coffee table in his living room, and remembered the package and envelope that was still tucked in on the bottom of the bag. Imagine if he just dropped his bag on the ground, like he usually did—he would have been eternally screwed. Then again, “screwed” is putting it a bit lightly. He would have to explain a moment of carelessness to a room full of board members, and maybe even the CEO if it was bad enough. He shuddered at the thought.

_I should probably open it now_ _,_ he thought as he pulled out the envelope first. Upon taking out the contents, he found a neatly made instruction booklet, and quick reference guide on the basic controls of the device. It was very well presented and put together; he did half expect there to be more agreements to sign within the envelope, but there was none of that as far as he could see. He already signed a good amount of agreements and contracts the day before, though given the tech involved—he wouldn’t be surprised if the agreements he signed were just some kind of slave contract in disguise.

He couldn’t really make sense of the instructions, probably because he hadn’t even seen the device in question yet. The box inside of the white package was about the size of an actual eyeglasses case, and sort of resembled an iPhone box in terms of aesthetic, as it was poreless smooth and popped open with a very satisfying click. From what he could see upon opening it was that it looked very much like a regular pair of glasses, with wire thin frames and circle lenses. So in other words it was hilariously nondescript.

He wasn’t sure of how the quality of the image would be, considering that he’s never done something like this before, or even seen something relatively like it. The tenseness that he was currently feeling at the moment was unprecedented; there was nothing to be nervous about. All he had to do was put on the glasses and test drive them for a few months. It’s not like it was going to kill him or anything. There was this very literally feeling of nerves bubbling under his skin, coupled with the tenseness was making him feel like he was definitely overreacting, and that something was very wrong with him. He let out a terse laugh., finally putting on the glasses and letting them boot up.

“Hello! I’m Holo. Your Virtual Reality Assistant. This is your first login, Yunho-ssi.”a familiar voice spoke. Yunho’s eyes widened, taking in the person that had just appeared in front of him. “This has to be some kind of joke” he mumbled, trying to figure out just what in the hell was going on.

The hologram look like an exact replica of Changmin. Hair, smile and all. Yunho would know, after all he’s spent 16 years together with the man in question.

“H-how is this? I mean why do you look like that?” He said, pointing at his face. It was so realistic, he was sure that if the real Changmin was in this room right now, he’d have some trouble telling the two apart, aside from the obvious differences in clothes.

“Oh, you mean my facial construct? I was designed to look like someone familiar to you, to aid your ease of use. Are you not satisfied with it? It can easily be changed through settings.” In Holo’s default form, he was wearing a black fitted suit jacket with a vest, and a light blue button up. His hair was slicked back, though not completely flush against his head, there was still a bit of volume there; Yunho didn’t really realize that he’d been staring until Holo had cleared his throat. He wasn’t even sure how that was possible either, considering there was no throat to clear. Yet the sound was too realistic; the small details they incorporated were just screamed of absolute craftsmanship.

“It’s fine. Your clothes need to be changed though. I might get confused, so you need to be wearing something I’d easily recognize you in. Can you do that?” It was so off putting how natural he looked, yet just as easy to talk to him like he was actually Changmin. He had briefly considered changing his appearance, but something in him was tempted to see how the program would fair in day to day life. Would it get to the point where he’d eventually mix the two up? Yunho didn’t think it was likely, but then again, he didn’t really know.

“Okay, what would you like me to change into? Or does it not matter?”

“Hmm, let me think. You should probably wear something that Changmin wouldn’t normally wear. It has to match with the weather as well. It’s winter right now, so pea coats and turtlenecks? I think that would look nice on you. Also, if Changmin is ever wearing the same clothes as you, change but also tell me too, so I won’t become confused.”

“Excuse me Yunho-ssi, but who is Changmin? Is he the one that I’m modeled after? I was only programmed to look like someone that you know, but I was never told who exactly.”

“That’s correct.” Damn, even the way he spoke had his little nuances too. It’s like they tool Changmin’s voice and somehow transplanted it into Holo.

“Ok, I’m ready. Is this alright?” he turn around, showcasing all his angles. He was currently wearing a white button up, with a light blue sweater over that, and black pea coat to finish the look. His hair was styled down and god he just looked so handsome. Yunho felt his stomach do weird flips, before he realized that he was essentially crushing on the person made from lines of code. There was some shame that came with that, but he ignored it. There wasn’t much he could do anyway, with the real-life Changmin being tethered to someone already, but this was an all time low for him.

He really needed to cut himself some slack. At the moment Holo was currently looking around the room, trying to interact with the electronics in the room. He supposed that was enough fiddling around for the day, so he notified Holo that he was logging out, and slipped the glasses off his face and rubbed his eyes.

Some proper sleep was apparently necessary at this point. An errant yawn came out at that moment, making him feel instantly more exhausted, to which he probably was. With how old he currently was, he wasn’t surprised.

Everything seemed to make him so tired nowadays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it isn't obvious by now, everything that Holo, or Shim Changmin Doppelganger will say is underlined.
> 
> Also please comment, and give it a kudos if you enjoyed this!
> 
> I had a schedule of posting at least once or twice a week, but since I missed last week, I decided that I was a bit too ambitious. So now I'll have one chapter a week, and if I'm feeling especially good, two chapters.
> 
> Thanks! I'm also still looking for a beta reader/editor, so if you're interested, leave a comment or message me.


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